Bert,
I don't know about the person who was offered money and refused. But I do know that MY HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN, for a family of 4 costs $1200.00 per month, with a 2500 deductible. This means an actual annual out of pocket cost of $16,000.00. Because we can afford it, we pay for it.
It would be irrational of me, to expect someone who could get a job paying $14/hour or $28000.00/year to pay, with 2 small children to pay 60% of their income for health insurance, in addition to housing and transportation costs. Faced with the choice of keeping your children insured, or working and NOT BEING ABLE TO INSURE THEM, I would easily choose the former.
Now, as I see it, the solution is not to "simply call them lazy and shiftless" but rather to fix the system so that
1) insurance is cheaper
2) they are allowed a graduated safety net as they transition from public assistance to work, so that they don't face that choice.
It is easy for people who earn more than $150,000.00 to say "those lazy people" don't want to work when working would mean leaving their children uninsured.
